Bear Sighting

There are lots of things people want to do or see when they visit Yosemite: hike Half Dome, visit at waterfall, and see a bear, to name a few.  One thing I really wanted when I first started last summer, was the latter, to see a bear.  Oh man.  Last summer a mother and two cubs walked by me.  The sighting lasted a total of maybe five seconds.  I was thrilled.  I was jumping up and down and yelling at my coworker, "a bear, a bear!"  Did I have my camera for this oh so brief encounter?  Nope.  And those three were the only bears I saw in a little over six months.

This summer, my desire to see a bear increased.  On a hike, I startled a bear and saw its hind-quarters.  Not satisfied.  While driving, I saw a bear cub, absolutely adorable, playing by the side of the road.  But I was driving and couldn't stop and didn't have my camera anyway.  Then again, driving, a bear ran across the road in front of me.  While I've had more sightings, nothing where I felt I could really watch and enjoy and observe and photograph the animal.

A few weeks I go I went for a run.  As I ran by the vegetation office, I saw a bear trap.  There were people congregated and pointing.  A bear!  Not wanting to lose daylight, I ran my fastest bit-over-three miles ever, grabbed my camera, and came back and spent a glorious 20 minutes watching a 6 year old female eat acorns in a tree.

 Yes, these are horribly blurry.  I know I need to work on my photography skills.  You'll have to simply trust that it's a bear.  She even had the bear hind leg swagger I absolutely love.

I was able to get five seconds of video when she decided to climb out of the tree.  Again, yes, I know it's sideways; I'm obviously challenged in more than one way.

It was a wonderful event and I feel satisfied in checking off "see a bear" on my list of summer goals.

And the sunset from my front porch that night wasn't so bad either.